JOHOR BARU, Oct 22 — Johor Barisan Nasional (BN) chief Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad today hinted at the possibility that he would be fielded as a candidate outside of his parliamentary constituency for the coming 15th general election (GE15).
The parliamentary hopeful said this was inevitable in politics as the party’s leadership could decide to field him in a constituency that lies beyond his political base of Pontian.
“I am not ruling out the possibility that I am being considered by Umno leadership to stand as a candidate away from Pontian.
“For me, I consider myself lucky to even be given the opportunity to be a GE15 candidate. What is important is when a candidate is sent to compete, he must win based on his potential,” said Hasni to reporters after officiating the latest Al-Ikhlas Gadjet branch in Larkin Sentral here today.
Previously, it was rumoured that the former Johor mentri besar will contest in Pontian to replace its incumbent MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan who will be sent to contest in Simpang Renggam.
Hasni, who is the Benut assemblyman, is currently the Pontian Umno division chief as well as the state’s Umno chief and state BN chairman.
However, recently there have been indicators that Ahmad will retain the Pontian seat for GE15, effectively posing the question of where Hasni will stand.
Hasni explained that fielding an outside candidate also had its merits as it may bring about a positive change, such as well-being and prosperity to a particular area.
In addition, he said such a move also aims to highlight the candidate’s potential as well as the future of Johor’s politics.
“So, the possibility of me being an outside candidate is one of the considerations.
“This matter is also an important aspect for BN’a strategy to capture at least 16 to 17 parliamentary seats for the GE15 come polling day on November 19,” he said.
Hasni also played down the likelihood that a decision to field him away from Pontian would lead to protests among both his supporters and those of his host constituency.
He is confident that both Johor Umno and BN are capable of dealing with such matters as was seen during the state election in March.
Meanwhile, Hasni said Johor BN does not have any problems fielding winnable candidates in strong Opposition held parliamentary seats.
This includes the Pagoh parliamentary seat, which involves incumbent Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is a former prime minister and current Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president.
“Umno has never lacked good leaders and I don’t see any problem in fielding a strong candidate who can win the Pagoh seat,” he said.
